


if it is a dream (i still remember it)

by twinklylix



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Child Huang Ren Jun, Child Liu Yang Yang, Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Guardian Angels, Mentioned NCT Dream Ensemble, Mentioned WayV Ensemble, Monsters, mentions of horror movies, monsters under the bed, they aren't bad monsters, they're more like guardians underneath your bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-25
Updated: 2021-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-27 03:53:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30116748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twinklylix/pseuds/twinklylix
Summary: Ten likes protecting Yangyang, the child being extremely easy to help through his dreams. Except, Ten doesn't know what to do when his child goes to his first sleepover and he can't watch over Yangyang from his position under the child's bed.orthe monsters under children's beds are actually guardians, protecting them from far greater terrors. ten is one of these monsters, and the child ten presides over has gone to his first sleepover.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten & Liu Yang Yang
Kudos: 19





	if it is a dream (i still remember it)

**Author's Note:**

> title from wayv's dream launch!  
> my first one-shot, based on a prompt from reddit!
> 
> **here's the original prompt:**  
>  _the monsters under children's beds are actually guardians, protecting them from far greater terrors. you are one of these monsters, and the child you preside over has gone to a sleepover._

Hearing the stomping of small feet on the wooden floors alerted Ten and his friends into business; protecting the child who sleeps in the bed above them. Ten had been doing this long before he was summoned here, to take care of a small child named Yangyang, with five other monsters alongside him. All six of the monsters under Liu Yangyang’s bed had been alive for centuries before being where they preside now, but this child was Ten’s favourite by far. They all had preferences, Ten’s being the mischievous and cheeky, but loving and cute type which the six-year-old stood for. The others would disagree.

“Hey, Yangie, what do you want to read tonight?” The child’s mother’s voice rang out from the doorway. They heard shuffling on the floor from where Yangyang had leapt off of the bed to collect a book from the shelf.

“He’s so cute,” Ten whispered to himself. To his dismay, Sicheng had heard him and decided to tease him a bit.

“Yangyang is a good child but how could you prefer him to Junnie?” ‘Junnie’ was Sicheng’s other child, a six-year-old named Renjun who was friends with Yangyang. Apart they were trouble but together… Ten didn’t even want to think about that. The two six-year-olds were the devil’s reincarnates with how they acted together. Ten had teased the younger for loving the devilish types but Ten kind of agreed. Renjun was adorable, but so was Yangyang, therefore the latter was better because he was Ten’s child.

The child had gotten back from the shelf with his book and laid down as his mother sat on the edge of the bed to read to him. Ten leaned against his arms and listened to his child’s mother read to Yangyang to knock him into dreamland. That was where Ten came in. After about 10 minutes, Ten heard light snoring from above, signifying that Yangyang was now asleep. The resounding footsteps from his mother left the room, leaving the door ajar for easy access. Now came the wait for the sleep cycle to reach the dreaming stage.

Sicheng and the others all had their own children to watch over during the night, but they usually alternated where they hung out during the day, while the kids were out at school and in the community. Kun had a young child named Chenle to take care of, Ten had Yangyang, Sicheng had Renjun, Hendery had a Korean boy named Donghyuck but Lucas and Xiaojun were currently childless.

Sensing Yangyang in the dreamland, Ten closed his eyes and entered the mind of his child. Ten frowned when he saw the environment of the dream; rather a nightmare. The sky was dark, cloudy and lightning was resonating from a distance. Ten stood in the middle of a field, craning his head to look for the young child. The six-year-old was still at a phase in his life where everything  
scared him and the monster had to protect him from these nightmares. The reason for his confusion was because this was almost the same nightmare from the last two nights.

The first time the nightmare had come about, Yangyang had accidentally seen a part of the horror movie that his parents were watching and someone had chased the child for a few minutes before Ten had interfered and saved him from the real monster. The monsters in your head are always worse than the ones underneath your bed anyway.

The second time (last night), the child had been almost killed by something large and fuzzy and Ten had stepped in, banishing the figure from sight. The sky and environment around them were the same as they had previously been. Yangyang had spoken about a blurry faced figure who had saved him in his dreams to his mother, who claimed that it could’ve been anyone the child could imagine.

Ten hoped that tonight, Yangyang wouldn’t get himself into a situation where he could die in his nightmare, shooting up out of bed and throwing the monster out of his head. The first time he had this nightmare, the child screamed and cried for his mother who came rushing in at the sound of her baby sobbing about a scary figure who tried killing him, only to be saved by someone unidentifiable. 

Scanning the area, Ten couldn’t see any immediate danger but he also couldn’t see Yangyang. After a few minutes, the monster heard the sounds of grass rustling and turned to see the child running in his general direction. Nothing was following him, which was a good start.

“Stranger!” Yangyang called out, a little broken in speech but generally correct.

“Hello, child.” Ten spoke, kneeling onto the ground as the child barrelled into the monster.

“You’re so pretty!” The younger mumbled as he kept hugging Ten. Shuffling his position, the guardian ended up sitting amongst the reeds of grass spreading around the two, Yangyang still snuggling into his chest. Ten was a bit shocked that Yangyang could at least see him enough to say he was pretty of all adjectives in his vocabulary. Other monsters often complimented him for his work in the line of guardianship and his appearance. Slender, pale and cat-like eyes were usually how he was described by the others back in his home.

When Ten didn’t respond, Yangyang glanced up at the monster with wide, sparkling eyes, which he almost gave into. The child obviously looked up to the monster for saving and protecting him from the monsters of his nightmares. Finally, Ten came up with a response for the child.

“You’re prettier, Yangie,” Ten softly smiled, looking down at the six-year-old in his lap. The boy’s eyes filled with glossy tears, which would’ve fallen off his cheeks had Ten not wiped them away gently.

“You aren’t real, are you? I don’t know anyone who looks as pretty as you do, Stranger.” Yangyang quickly responded. There it was again. The word ‘Stranger’. He supposed that’s what he was, a stranger with no relation to Yangyang besides appearing and protecting the child in his seemingly reoccurring nightmares.

“It’s up to you to decide whether I am real or not, child.” Looking to the sky, the dark clouds were clearing up and the sun started to slowly peek through. Ten smiled, cheering in his mind as the child’s happy emotions cleared away the nightmare and turned it into a dream. A noise resounded from the left and both figures turned to find the source of the noise. A sheep was approaching the two and Yangyang was up to pet the animal, trying to feed the grass to the sheep.

Ten found this an appropriate time to exit Yangyang’s mind, as the child was preoccupied with the creature. 

“Please remain happy, Liu Yangyang.”

It continued for a few days, the dreams of Yangyang becoming less dreary and more like the imagination that Ten knew the child had. He was happier in his dreams and the day when waking up and getting ready for school. Yangyang and Ten often walked around together in the fields, or just sat and the monster cuddled with the child who had no qualms about getting closer with him.

One time in a dream, Yangyang had said something that worried Ten.

“Stranger… I won’t be here tomorrow night. I’m having a sleepover with my friend…” The monster was so shocked that he forgot to reply to the six-year-old.

“Hey, that’s ok. I’ll be ok. You’re with your friend and you’ll be safe, young child,” he eventually responded. Yangyang hugged Ten tighter, and it sounded like he was trying not to cry for Ten’s sake. The monster petted the boys head in comfort, trying not to show his tears. He had grown too attached to Yangyang and now he didn’t know what to do about it. All the guardians were warned about trying not to get too attached to their child but Ten had, now he had to deal with the consequences. 

The only time he could go from the underside of Yangyang’s bed was during the day, where he could join his friends, go back home but as of a night in the human world, he was glued to the child’s bed and dreams. He worried for Yangyang without him, but hopefully, he would be ok without Ten watching over him.

“Ten, stop sulking. I’ll look after him.” Sicheng told him the next morning.

“How?” Ten questioned, turning towards the younger. “Also, I’m not sulking.”

“Right… Yangyang’s going to Renjunnie’s house and I’ll look over him. They’ll be fine together.” The younger reassured, hugging Ten’s shoulders before disappearing. Probably going to see Kun back home.

Ten sighed, leaving his home and teleporting to his station under Yangyang’s bed even if the child wouldn’t be there. The monster knew Sicheng would lookout for both children, but he couldn’t help but worry about his six-year-old. Yangyang knew he wouldn’t see Ten tonight, but what if he forgot? What if he panicked and got another nightmare, the same one that plagued him for a few nights a week ago. It was like Yangyang was his child, that’s how worried Ten was for him.

The monster tried to relax, knowing his child wasn’t here, but at another’s house, in the hands of Sicheng. He refused to cry over this situation, knowing it wasn’t fair of him to do so. Yangyang could do anything he wanted, and Ten knew he could. If it meant staying the night at Renjun’s alone and having Sicheng care for them, he couldn’t argue against it, because he knew the kids were in safe hands.

That night, Ten fell asleep in his station for the first time since he became a guardian.

The next day, Ten was awakened by Sicheng shaking him rapidly. The monster reached up to slap the younger but his movements were sluggish and he was half asleep, so the other easily caught the arm and placed it down.

“Sicheng?” he asked, trying to open his eyes to look at the other monster.

“Hey, Ten,” he smiled. Shooting up into a sitting position, he needed his question answered.

“How were they? Was Yangyang ok?” Even though guardians usually had a ‘main’ child to protect, they could look over others when the primary protector couldn’t. 

“Calm down! Yangyang was fine! They saw each other in their dreams last night.” Sicheng explained with a smile on his face, trying to calm the other guardian down from his panic.

Ten sighed for the millionth time in the last twenty-four hours and tried to stop panicking right in front of Sicheng, and listen to whatever the younger was trying to say to him. That Yangyang was safe and wasn’t overcome with a nightmare last night.

“It just feels like… I have a deeper connection with him than I thought…” Ten wondered aloud, Sicheng nodding along.

“It’s not unheard of for a guardian to be attached to their child, but isn’t recommended, as you should know.” Ten knew this, they were all taught this when becoming protectors, and he knew of some child attachment cases from friends. This meant that it would be harder for Ten to separate himself from Yangyang when the child gets older.

“We were all taught this, Sicheng. I know the dangers, but it doesn’t feel right for me to be away from him. It’s fine during the day but… I slept last night. At night.” The monster could feel another round of panic coming on and the younger guardian wrapped an arm around the elder's shoulder in a show of comfort.

“It’ll be ok, Ten.”

“Hello, stranger!” Yangyang exclaimed in his dream that night. It felt good to be back here, where he could be around the child-like imagination of the six-year-old. The monster could feel the attachment to the child get stronger as he hugged him tightly.

“How was it? I was told you two dreamed together,” Ten smiled lightly, letting the child settle in his lap as he laid down. The tree-covered by moss in Yangyang’s dream was the softest thing he’d ever touched and that had been declared their ‘hideout’. The monster only agreed because it was Yangyang but it was out in the open. Luckily, Yangyang didn’t often dream about others (not that Ten had seen since he’d been assigned to the child). 

“Renjunnie told me he dreamed of us! But, how did you know that stranger?” the six-year-old asked the guardian, looking up at him. Ten couldn’t answer that question fully, but he did say one thing.

“That’s a secret for when you’re older, Liu Yangyang.”

And as the younger spotted a sheep grazing in the distance, abandoning Ten, the monster thought about how lucky he was to have this child to protect constantly.  


**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!  
> (happy 3rd anniversary to stray kids!!)
> 
> twitter: [@spectralmin_](https://twitter.com/spectralmin_)


End file.
